Thanks to pruning, roses can be rejuvenated, made their roots stronger, improving metabolic processes. This has a positive effect on flowering. Also, after completing this event, the bush survives the winter cold more easily, and its appearance becomes more aesthetic. Pruned plants are less likely to suffer from diseases and pests. But it is important to carry out the procedure correctly. In this article, I will show you how to prune roses in the fall.
Required tool
Before starting pruning, I prepare all the necessary tools in advance. It must be remembered that they must be as sharp and clean as possible so as not to harm the plants. Tight gloves should be found to protect against thorns. If you have to work with a large bush, it is advisable to wear tight, long-sleeved clothing.
From the tool you need to prepare:
- Lopper or garden saw. Useful for cutting thick shoots.
- Anvil pruner. Essential for dry twigs.
- Bypass secateurs. Used for dry and live thin shoots.
- Small rake. Needed for harvesting fallen leaves.
I also take knee pads with me to keep my pants from getting dirty when pruning thick dead branches.
How to trim properly
There are a lot of varieties of roses. Each of them must be shortened according to their own rules.
Bush
Some varieties of spray roses, when properly formed, can bloom several times per season. For a plant to be healthy and strong, it must be properly pruned in the fall. If this is not done, the bush will weaken in winter, which will cause the flowering to deteriorate.
The first thing I do is remove old (over 3 years old) and dry branches. It should be cut at an angle of 45 degrees.
After that, I cut off the unripe shoots, since in winter they will still die. At the end, I remove the branches that grow inside the bush, as well as unopened buds. The cut is made at a distance of 1 cm from the outer kidney.
These pruning rules are suitable for both mature shrubs and young plants.
Hybrid tea
Most often, mushroom roses are found in the garden. They are distinguished by large buds of various colors and resistance to temperature extremes. Most varieties are suitable for cutting as they form one large flower at the end of the shoot.
Mushroom tea roses bloom from mid-summer to early October. Buds form simultaneously on new and old branches, which creates the effect of constant flowering for several months.
In the fall, these varieties do not need to be cut too much. Shoots can be cut in half. Kombucha varieties do not tolerate winter frosts very well, so they need a margin of stem length. If the upper part of the shoot freezes or is damaged by disease, it is cut off in the spring.
Climbing
Climbing roses are divided into two types:
- ramblers - curly variety;
- climbers - have good winter hardiness and bloom profusely with large flowers.
Each variety is cut using a different technique. Large-flowered varieties form most of the flower buds at the end of the shoot. During pruning, a third of all lashes are removed. No more than 10 buds should be left on each branch.
In climbing roses, I cut only diseased and old branches.
Groundcover
The peculiarity of ground cover varieties is that their shoots spread along the ground. Such varieties are usually planted in the foreground of flower beds. They are also often planted along garden paths.
In the autumn, they also need to be cut off. All diseased and weak branches are cut off. You also need to remove old shoots. The healthy and the strong should only be shortened a little. Lateral branches that have bloomed in the current season are cut into 2-3 buds. You also need to remove all the extra stems that deprive the rose of its decorative effect.
There should be no overlapping branches in the center of the plant. If they are, they are also cut off, leaving the strongest ones.
Floribundu
Floribunda roses are more powerful plants when compared to remontant and Kombucha species. For them, pruning is very important.
Pruning too much can weaken the plant, preventing it from blooming for several years. But weak pruning also harms the bush. After it, new growths will not survive the winter.
In autumn, only unripe and non-flowering shoots should be cut off.
Pruning roses just before wintering
In October or November (depending on the region), before the roses are sheltered, you can proceed to pre-winter pruning. It is necessary for the plants to prepare for a comfortable wintering.
The shortest pruning is required for floribunda and hybrid teas. If you prune groundcover and climbing roses just as much, then they will most likely not bloom next season.
The first step is to thoroughly clean the tree trunk circle of fallen leaves. After that, all leaves with petioles that remain on the shoots are cut off. It is advisable to burn them later. The same must be done with unripe green shoots, since due to the cold weather they will begin to rot and can become a source of infection for other branches.
After that, all other shoots are cut off. Their height after trimming should be about 30-40 cm. Then the bushes are treated with antifungal drugs.
Standard roses do not need to be heavily pruned before hiding. Only dead branches and leaves are removed.
After pruning, you just need to properly cover the bushes. Roses will now tolerate winter frosts normally.
Read also: Top dressing of apple trees in the fall: what fertilizers are best to apply to get a good harvest next year
Friends, do not forget to subscribe to the channel and LIKE if the article is useful!
#roses#preparing for winter#pruning roses